Coffee making apparatus incorporating metered dispensing

Abstract

A coffee and/or tea dispenser having a cold water reservoir connected to a water heater which is connected in turn to a spray head. Below the head is a container for a bed of coffee grains or tea leaves and below which again is a tank for the infused beverage. Cups of freshly infused coffee or tea can be metered from the tank by a dispensing valve. In order to ensure the head of liquid applied to the valve is within reduced limits the tank is wide and low. The tank is preferably dismountable for easy cleaning and level probes normally protruding into the tank are arranged to be swung out of the tank to assist dismounting. The dispensing valve is preferably formed with a flexible liquid conduit squeezed between three abutments so that the tube is not clamped but rather distorted into a closed state.

We claim: 
     
       1. An apparatus for making tea and coffee beverages, said apparatus including coffee and tea infusing means, a beverage storage tank arranged to receive a beverage formed in said infusing means, said tank having a bottom outlet, a beverage dispensing outlet positioned below said tank outlet, a flexible conduit connected to said tank outlet and extending to said beverage dispensing outlet and beverage dispensing control means, said control means comprising a pair of abutments spaced apart and positioned on one side of said flexible conduit, a control member normally positioned intermediate said abutments adjacent to and on another side of said flexible conduit and being movable into a portion of the space separating the said two abutments so as thereby to compress one side of the dispensing conduit against the other side of the dispensing conduit and to deflect the said conduit through an arcuate path, and means operable on said control members whereby the dispensing conduit is either fully open or fully closed. 
     
     
       2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said control member operating means comprises a controlled solenoid. 
     
     
       3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said control member operating means comprises timing means to determine the period of time said dispensing conduit is open. 
     
     
       4. Apparatus for making a beverage such as coffee and tea, having a casing including: a cold water reservoir having an inlet and an outlet,   water heating means having a water inlet and a water outlet,   a first conduit communicating between said water heater means inlet and said reservoir outlet,   a spray head,   a second conduit communicating between said water heater means outlet and the spray head,   a beverage grain bed supporting means, mounted below said spray head so as to receive a water spray therefrom,   a support surface defined by said casing for supporting a dispensed-liquid container for receiving dispensed beverage therein,   a beverage retaining tank mounted below said bed supporting means and above said support surface so as to receive infused beverage from said bed, said tank having a bottom outlet,   a flexible conduit communicating with said bottom outlet of the tank, said flexible conduit co-operating with dispensing valve means which is operable to allow predetermined volumes of said beverage to be dispensed through said flexible conduit from said tank into a beverage receiving container which has been placed upon said support surface,   said dispensing valve means comprising a pair of abutments spaced adjacent one side of the flexible conduit, a control member normally positioned intermediate said abutments adjacent to and on the other side of the flexible conduit so as thereby to compress one side of the said conduit against the other side of the conduit and to deflect the said conduit through an arcuate path, and means operable on said control member whereby the dispensing conduit is either fully open or fully closed.   
     
     
       5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said control member operating means comprises a controlled solenoid. 
     
     
       6. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said control member operating means comprises timing means to determine the period of time said dispensing conduit is open.